Silicon Valley's New Slogan: Let's Get Physical - Business Insider
OpenAI is also ramping up its investment in robotics, a sharp reversal from 2020, when the company shuttered the project behind a robotic hand that could solve a Rubik's Cube.
Key takeaways
- Humanoid robots are gaining momentum across multiple fronts as of June 2026.
- Investors are betting heavily on the sector, with Barclays forecasting a $200 billion market by 2035 and Wedbush’s Dan Ives suggesting it could eventually be worth trillions, while SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has called physical AI the next trillion‑dollar opportunity.
- Companies such as China’s Unitree Robotics are showcasing humanoids in public venues, and Chinese manufacturers now claim the capacity to build thousands of units annually, though analysts warn demand may lag supply.
- In the United States, corporate giants are accelerating development: OpenAI is expanding its robotics lab to create a humanoid platform, Meta has acquired Assured Robot Intelligence to boost its AI models for humanoids, and Boston Dynamics—now owned by Hyundai—is planning to field tens of thousands of Atlas robots in factories by 2028.
- Tesla’s Optimus remains a high‑profile but opaque project, with CEO Elon Musk hinting that limited consumer sales could start by the end of 2027.
OpenAI is also ramping up its investment in robotics, a sharp reversal from 2020, when the company shuttered the project behind a robotic hand that could solve a Rubik's Cube. The team is teaching a robotic arm how to perform household tasks as part of an effort to build a humanoid robot, Business Insider reported earlier this year. OpenAI currently has job openings for several roles in its robotics lab, including machine learning engineers, data acquisition managers, and 3D printing technicians.
Meta, too, is bolstering its robotics efforts. Last month, the company acquired humanoid robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence for an undisclosed sum. The startup was building AI models for humanoid robots, and its team joined Meta's AI unit, Superintelligence Labs. The big wildcard is Tesla. Elon Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as central to Tesla's future, but the company has disclosed few details about the humanoid robot's progress. Musk said at the World Economic Forum earlier this year that Tesla would probably sell Optimus robots to the public by the end of 2027 and that the robots were already doing simple tasks at Tesla's factories.
Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics is also pushing toward industrial use, with Hyundai planning to deploy tens of thousands of Atlas humanoids in its factories by 2028. Agility Robotics is further along in commercial deployments. Its Digit humanoid has been deployed with customers including Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler, and Mercado Libre.
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By Rya Jetha
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